Stereo Embers’ TRACK OF THE DAY: Kudzu’s “No Backbone”

Springfield-Missouri based duo Kudzu is Seth Goodwin (vocals, synth, and drum programming) and Mark Gillenwaters (vocals and guitar) are a post-punk act that blends their music with waves of synthpop and harmonic DIY punk.

Following 2015’s Cairoglyphics LP, the band is slated to release their new Defeated LP via Push & Pull Records on March 2, 2018. Kudzu are among the bands that refresh and mix the post-punk soil with melodies and chords that are used in synthetic music, adding groovy and grey sonic dashes to the genre. The single “No Backbone” has a magnificent vocal and a guitar riff that’s very catchy, while the drum programming and the keys are arranged around that riff which may remind you some Chinese traditional dragon-theater music–very inspired and clever work by the band. Also the phaser effects on the bridge of the song work gloriously as they lift it to the dance floor with strains of psychedelia.

The track list of Defeat–although it seems like a reaction to mounting disappointments and frustrations with increasingly frustrating and disappointing realities–holds titles like “Some Cops,” “Burn Yourself,” “Balking the Grave,” and “One Purpose” which blaze away like fiery manifestos.

In a statement, the band’s Mark Gillenwaters explains the band’s inspirations: “While we were working on new material, I drew inspiration from the petty frustrations of everyday life and the stark reality of life in the Ozarks. I feel like there is a type of alienation that you can harbor in a place like this that lends it’s self to bleak music. I like to treat lyrics as more emotional than literal so some lyrics might not make sense but still convey the emotion I’m trying to present.”